1 1 Crude Oil Washing (COW) Figure 11. Crade ll washing machine ad wolating valve 11.1. The Chemistry of COW COWisa process where sludge deposits adhering tothe tank structure are removed using jets of ‘rude oll, causing the deposits to liquefy to the consistency of slurry, which can be discharged. ‘Sludge is made up of a mixture of paraffinic wax, asphaltenes (tar-lke substances), other complex hydrocarbon compounds, water and non. hydrocarbons such as sand and shale, Because ofits complex chemical structure, the paraffinic wax in sludge will not break down, even when heated. It can only be mixed with the crude olf thats being discharged and itis important that the wax formation is kept to a minimum by maintaining the cargo temperature ata minimum of 10°C above the cargo cloud point temperature (see chapter 2). Closed cycle COW’ can result in an accumulation of paraffinic wax ina single tank and this method should be avoided when washing with crudes that have a high paraffinic wax content, eee re en) because of its solvent content, Recirculating the same crude oil as ina closed cycle washing, Be eee esd Penney so Ne) rere on) Figure 11.2 Crude oll adhering wo surfaces Some crude oils are unsuitable for COW as they hhave a high pour point or high paraffinic wax content, causing residues to accumulate on the tank structure and resulting in high ROB quantities. Some particularly volatile crude olls are unsuitable for COW because of excessive vapour evolution, High viscosity crudes, also known as aromatic crudes, may be suitable for COW if they are heated before discharge to at least 10°C above their pour point o,f the cargo has a significant wax Content, to at least 10°C above the cloud point. This ‘temperature should be maintained throughout discharge, ‘sed cle ude of washing sa method by which he rude oi used fr washings awn rom the bm tank to which the washings rrBA jm 2 «rue ar cs High wax content crudes, also known as paraffinic crudes, must be heated before loading and the temperature must be maintained during transit and discharge. The temperature ofthe slop tank used asa crude source for COW should be kept at about 10°C above the average cargo temperature. Heating crude ol result in ahigher rate of hydrocarbon gas evolution. Asa result, the lighter fractions ofthe crude oll may be lost. ‘Washing tanks containing paraffinic crudes vith aromatic crude, oF vice versa, can cause a ‘chemical reaction that results in the precipitation ‘of asphaltenes, producing additional sludge and significantly increased ROB quantities. The suitability of crude ol for COW should be assessed when the vessel is fixed and should form part ofthe voyage or discharge instructions. ‘The vessels Crude Oil Operations and Equipment ‘Manual’ as required under MARPOL Annex 1, Regulation 33, will contain alist of crude oll types that are unsuitable for COW. 11.2 Hazards of COW While COW isan effective way to reduce residual sludge, it does present some hazards ifnot performed correctly. 124 Ignition as a Result of Electrostatic Generation Figure 11.3 Lightning storm ‘video taken circa 1970s-80s showed the activity nse the tank is sinlartoan electrical storm. Due to the high pressure that COW is performed at, 9.5 bar isa typical figure static build-up can occur, resulting in electrostatic discharge in the tank Hydrocarbon gas production is also increased. While its not possible to control the rate of hydrocarbon gas produced, itis possible to reduce static build-up by ensuring that only dry’crude is used, i crude oll that does not contain water. ‘A.cude oil jt that contains water droplets can develop a substantial electrostatic charge. As water usually settles on the bottom, no tank should be used for COW unless it has been debottomed by at least one metre to remove any water that may have settled out, COW pumps, pipes and machines should be flushed with crude ol at low pressure if they have previously been used for water washing ‘Although static is significantly reduced by ensuring that there sno entrained water, an electrostatic charge stil exists, The risk of igniting the flammable ‘vapours is minimised by using IG to reduce the O, content ofthe tanks being crude oll washed to 8% Cor less by volume. IG systems must be capable of supplying sufficient IG to maintain the atmosphere in the cargo tanks atless than 8% O, by volume, whichis critical for safe COW operations. While instruments display the O, content ofthe IG flow at cargo control stations itis essential that the actual, content ofthe atmosphere in the cargo tankis checked and confirmed as ess than 8% prior 10 COW. erent ank is crude oll washed, the 0, level shal b a neat ares ea ie Se ee taken from similar levels in each 11.2.2. Oil Spillage as a Result of Leakage from a COW Piping System or Tank Cleaning Machine Oil leakage can occur asa result of © Pipeline corrosion or erosion, so the piping system isnot able to withstand the maximum allowable working pressure (MAP) tank cleaning machine component failure failure of equipment due to dynamic loading. External corrosion can be identified by inspection and can be managed using a maintenance program, Local corrosion occurs when the pipeline isn contact with the pipe clips brackets or pipe bearers. Erosion ean only be confirmed by internal inspections or non-destructive testing (NOT) techniques. Figure 114 ol record book, pat2 Maintenance and testing must be caried out following the manufacture’ instructions. The Integrity of the COW system must be tested before arrival at each discharge port. leaning» reachesth valves can 11.3 Co) Alltankerst! ‘Crude Oi that meetst 13805) ands IMO’ public ‘The manual being devel coWneeds! © Tomax tominie. © beforey © to prep: iccor 2C cor 3C COT accor 5CcoT sst [roratank 9 ing. ton param, loading can be avoided by ensuring ‘that pressure in the tank cleaning machine s increased ina controlled ‘way. This can be achieved by keeping all the tank machi closed while pressursing| Cleaning main. When the tank cleaning main. reaches the required pressure, the tank machine valves can be slowly opened. 11,3 COW Methodology ‘Alltankers that operate a COW system must have 4 'Grude Oil Operations and Equipment Manual that meets the requirements of Regulation 138(5) and should be in the format required by 160s publication on'Crude Oil Washing Systems’ ‘The manual must be used when a COW plan is, being developed. COW needs to be carried out: # Tomaximise outtun # tominimise the build-up of sludge # before water washing cargo tanks # to prepare the heavy weather ballast tank(s). COW increases the discharge time, which is usually recognised by the charterers or operators, who allow additional time fo it. The time allowed will be specified per tank or operation ‘The cargo officer must minimise the total discharge time to perform COW. 11.3.1, COW Tanks with Homogeneous Cargo [An homogeneous cargo may be able to be discharged in two batches. The first batch of tanks should be discharged and then crude oll washed while the second batch of tanks is being discharged. If selective COW is to be carried out, the selected tanks should be inthe fist batch to be discharges. If full COW program is undertaken, the number of tanks inthe second batch should be based on a discharge time that is almost equal to the time Fequired to wash the first batch of tanks. This, reduces the internal COW and stripping time, For example: {vessel that is loaded with crude ol discharged as shown in the table below: 1cor. 145, 31,456 0.9865 31,886 Batch 1 26 COT 146 33,245 0.9865 33,700 Batch 2 3¢ Cor 146 33,245 0.9865 33,700 Batch 1 accor 151 32,189 (09865 32629 Batch 2 sc cor 147 31,689 0.9865 32,123 Batch 1 Pst 154) 2,600 (0.9865 2.636 Batch 1 sot 155, 2,600 0.9865 2.636 ‘COW source TOTAL 167.024 169310‘One Batch Program Cargo dischan clear whether permission shy charterers, 00 oF o2 02 oF 05 06 07 08 om 10 11 12/19 14 45 16 47 18 19/20 21 22129 24125126 78 a Total discharge time 28.7 hours As previouslyt with aromatic avoided a a a (on completion Tl cargo.on pats reached bythe nm by directimpin MARPOL spect which is detern the horizontal tanks. Detaisat cleaning systen = —« Overall time ge Ifthe pou poin may undownt end of the cage fon the sludge On completions toreduce ROB Ifthe ROBin ap, ‘Two Batch Program sediment that sb Worth washinga toy to breakup The amount of, 00 01 02 09 04 08 06 a7 08 9 10 11 12 13/16) 95 98/17/4819 20 21) 22125 24 a5] 26)27 20/20 Total discharge time 25.4 hours bebalnced aga completecoll a 11.4 Prograt =<“ Overall tine Figure 11.6-Progam Ti verses stron [ence l stisia nme coset ating ag Fue 1. 11.3.2, COW Tanks with Different Grades of GF tert arangerent bse Crude oi batehar ‘A multi-grade cargo presents further complications time of 3.3 hours (3 hours, nutes) shortor than a single batch arrangement when thinking about COW. It may be possible to fully discharge one grade and to wash with the following grade, UNA MM 84» Crude ON Tanker Basle, $$$?a 20|20 | 20 rades of plications jbieto nthe Cargo discharge or voyage orders should make it clear whether this is possible. iit is not clear then petmission should be sought from the operators or charterer, ‘As previously mentioned, COW of paraffinic crudes with aromatic crudes or vice versa should be avoided, 11.3.3 Dealing with Residual ROB after cow (On completion of COW, there can be some residual ‘cargo on parts ofthe tank structure that are not reached by the crude oil jets. Areas not reached by direct impingement are calledshadow areas: [MARPOL specifies their maximum allowable area, hich is determined as a percentage ofthe area of the horizontal and vertical surfaces ofthe cargo oil | tanks. Detalls are in the COW manual or the tank cleaning system manufacturers manual Ifthe pour point is low enough, remaining crude oil may run down the structure and collect in the after tend of the cargo oll tank. The speed of flow depends an the sludge content and pour point ofthe cargo. (n completion of COW, tanks should be re-sripped to reduce ROB to a minimum, IFthe ROB ina particular tank consists of sludge or sediment that stripping has not removed, it may be worth washing across the tank bottom for one pass totry to break up the sludge or move the sediment. The amount of cargo that will be removed should be balanced against the additional time taken to complete COW. 11.4 Programming COW Machines gure 11.5- Programmable COW machine When considering the washing pattern and the thoroughness of COW, the following aspects of nozzle movement should be considered, 11.4.1 Azimuth Rotational Speed (rpm) Thisis the time taken to complete one rotation in the horizontal plane. This may be adjustable on programmable machines. 11.4.2: Pitch Angle (Degrees per Rotation) This the change of angle in the vertical plane for ‘every rotation inthe horizontal plane. Values of pitch ~angle can be selected for programmable machines. ‘The smaller the pitch angle, the more thorough the washing and the longer the washing time, 11.43: Vertical Wash Angle (Degrees) ‘The vertical angle is usually measured from the position ofthe nozzle pointing vertically downwards, With programmable crude oil wash machines, the following washing patterns are typical Top Wash: Bottom Wash +30" up to +120" and down to +30" +30" across bottom of tank to 30" and back to 430°,The maximum angle in the vertical plane can be timated from the tank geometry based on the following formula eas Ullage reference ee Cones ee ee ete pe erat en aso eer coe Es You should also refer to Section 13.1 ‘on pages 109-174 for further information on using COW machines towash the cargo tanks with wat BBs prior to purging and gas freeing. ae a isthe washing angle in the vertical plane Sis the azimuthal rotational speed (rpm) Bee ees isthe number of cycles (one cycle is completed when the nozzle returns to its original position at Pee ne Seba eats ort) Cones ‘A machine witha rotational speed of Irpm and a See mea te esc) bottom wash with a vertical angle from 40° to 0 for 1.5 cycles (3 passes) Ifthe throughput of the cient eerste? Cen usec eet Eee meee eet Peed eee Cree eet ay Oe Lee Ag #5 te ae Bs Balla Disct